With a New Malibu Pop-Up, Gjusta Goods Provides Everything You Need for a Boho Chic Day at the Beach

When she was looking to launch the latest Gjusta Goods pop-up, Gjelina COO Shelley Kleyn Armistead wanted to make a kind of general store for endless summer days. From surf-themed vintage vinyl playing over the sound of crashing waves to the heady scent of burning copal, the new Malibu spot does just that. “This store is much more of an outside experience,” Armistead, a Malibu local, explains. “The beach is on our doorstep and the PCH is a direct route to all the coastal camping sites so we really wanted to bring in everything you need for outdoor living for this summer launch.”

In a prime position opposite the pier, you’ll find the signature ceramics, linens and glassware that Armistead developed for the restaurant group she runs with Travis Lett and Fran Camaj (including chic commissary Gjusta, perennial Abbott Kinney hotspot Gjelina, take-out spot GTA, and Japanese style izakaya joint MTN) displayed on antique bread racks and bistro tables. New to the mix is everything you’ll need for a boho-chic day on the beach including linen totes and enamelware in the trademark palate of mustard, pink, grey and steel blue; seagrass picnic baskets; vintage Anatolian kilim rugs; woven Ethiopian blankets and stacks of linen throw pillows. Armistead promises they can be used on the beach: “The way they are constructed you can just shake the sand off and they’re super easy to wash.”

For those planning a true adventure, there are also portable fire pits, shovels, cast iron skillets, sleeping bags, lanterns, and coolers that can be loaded up with Gjusta delicacies. “My neighbors and I cook on the beach regularly so we’ve expanded our dry goods pantry line of trail mix, nuts, granola to include grits, hominy, a four grain porridge, dried mushrooms and seaweed...and dry rub mixes and salts which we’ll be selling with little recipe cards for people to recreate the experience.” While the space doesn’t have a full kitchen, there is a coffee station and fresh mint tea on offer, plus a selection of bites from Gjusta, encouraging shoppers to linger and interact with the unique goods that Armistead has curated. A series of summer pop-up dinners is also in the works, details of which will be posted on their Instagram account.

"I think there is nothing better than cooking and eating outside,” Armistead says. “It’s a far slower way to cook but it’s much more rewarding. When you cook on a fire everyone is drawn to it and it inspires conversation. It’s really a beautiful and unifying way to live.” Here, a few of her go-to camping or backyard cookout dishes:

For Dinner:The size of the Barebones Living Dutch Oven that I use depends on how many people I know I am going to cook for. I use the 4 qt for 2-4 people; the 8 qt for anywhere from 6-8 people. The following recipes are intended for the 4 qt. For larger parties, double everything except the turmeric, saffron & preserved lemon which I would do 1.5 times of and then taste.

6 boned chicken thighs

4 large potatoes thinly sliced

1 red onion cut into rings

2 preserved lemons

2 teaspoons turmeric

4 strands of saffron

1 quart stock

Good pour of white wine if you have it

Gjusta Bakery olive oil

Bunch of cilantro

Bunch of mint

You build this dish in 2 layers – you don’t need to heat the pan first if you don’t want to it’s that simple.

First put in 3 chicken thighs, sprinkle a teaspoon of turmeric, your favorite salt (mine is Maldon) and pepper to taste.

Next a layer of half the onions, half the potatoes, 2 saffron strands and one of the preserved lemons thinly sliced.

Repeat all this for the second layer.

Pour in the quart of stock, and wine.

Put on the embers and cook for 1.5-2 hours.

Serve in a bowl with chopped cilantro and mint and a dash of Gjusta Bakery olive oil.

For Breakfast:A bag of Kandarian Organic Farms Black Eyed Peas

Gjusta Bakery smoked chili salt

Gjusta Olive oil

Free Range eggs

Gjusta Bakery sourdough or favorite bread

Throw the bag of Black Eyed Peas into the same 4 qt pot that you have wiped out but still has some of the remnants of last night’s dinner to flavor them.

Cover with stock or water by 2 inches and cook for 30 -45 mins, depending on how hot your fire is.

In a 10 inch Barebones skillet, cook the eggs sunny side up in Gjusta olive oil

Grill sourdough (my favorite grill which I buy on Amazon – it’s the Texsport Heavy Duty Over Fire Camp Grill. Its genius and the best kept secret around.)